Incoming Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint says that he will draw upon his marketing background and leverage all the research capabilities of the think tank to more effectively communicate conservative solutions.

The goal is to understand and overcome the message of the progressive opposition, the former Republican senator from South Carolina told dinner guests at the National Review Institute 2013 Summit.

“We’re out in the market trying to sell vegetables that are good for you. Progressives are giving away candy,” he said. “If we don’t understand more about our competition, we’re going to lose and make mistakes.”

He said that the initiative begins by learning from and giving voice to Americans in the states, where endeavors such as freedom-to-work laws, lower taxes and new energy policies are taking hold and improving lives.

He said modernizing such messaging is necessary because progressive idealism has failed throughout history and continues to fail today. Facts don’t matter to liberals like the Obama Administration, “perceptions matter. It’s time to flip that around.”

The Heritage Foundation will help Americans to ensure that their voices are heard by their elected representatives , he said, because lawmakers in Washington are not going to stop the borrowing, spending and piling on of debt until they are forced to by their constituents.

“It’s time to take charge of our ideas and take our message directly to the American people.”

Incoming Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint says that he will draw upon his marketing background and leverage all the research capabilities of the think tank to more effectively communicate conservative solutions.